PAUL AMBEAU
Paul Ambeau, 86, of Canterbury, NH, a former instrument maker at Lincoln Lab, died on July 2. He was hired in 1953 and retired in 1979. Survivors include his wife, Thelma Snow.
WALTER J. BONCZAR JR.
A funeral was held on July 15 in St. John the Evangelist Church in Townsend for Walter J. Bonczar Jr. of Townsend, a Lincoln Laboratory carpenter who died on July 11 at age 50. He had been working at Lincoln Lab since 1979.
Mr. Bonczar leaves his wife, Marcia; his mother, Charlotte J. Bonczar of Lowell; two daughters, Christine and Katherine (both of Townsend); three brothers, Lawrence of Clarks Green, PA, Thomas of Lowell and Edward of Dracut; a sister, Mary Russell of Glendale, RI; and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen Street, Framingham, MA 01710.
VIRGINIA BRAMBILLA
Virginia Brambilla of Arlington, a former administrative assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, died on July 22 at the age of 63. She began working at MIT in 1984 and retired in 1996. Survivors include her husband, Amadeo, and a son, Mark of Arlington.
CHESTER D. DICKEY
Chester D. Dickey of Silver Springs, FL, a former design drafter at Lincoln Laboratory, died on July 31 at the age of 73. He was hired in 1954 and retired in 1987. Names of survivors were unavailable.
KYRA HALL
Kyra Hall, 77, of Belmont, a former secretary at the Research Laboratory for Electronics, died on July 1. She retired in 1988 after 26 years at MIT. Ms. Hall leaves her husband, Hilton D. Hall; a daughter, Irina Arnold-Feridy of Italy; and three grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Kidney Foundation of Massachusetts, 105 Eastern Ave., Dedham, MA, 02026.
W. DAVID KINGERY
Dr. W. David Kingery (SB 1948, ScD 1950), a former MIT professor, died on June 30 at age 73. He became known as the "father of modern ceramics" for his role in providing a scientific foundation to the empirical practice used since ancient times to manufacture pottery, glass and other materials. He was an MIT faculty member in materials science and engineering from 1951-88 before going to the University of Arizona. He won the Kyoto Prize last year (MIT Tech Talk, Aug. 11, 1999).
Dr. Kingery is survived by his wife, Lily; a son, William of Rolling Hills, VA; a daughter, Rebecca Jones of Burlington; a stepson, Bart H. LaPoole of Norwalk, CT; a stepdaughter, Marina Vooren of Wichita Falls, TX; two brothers, John M. of Greenwich, CT, and Robert E. of Charlotte, NC; and nine grandchildren.
DOUGLAS MacDONALD
A funeral was held in Trinity Church in Melrose on July 22 for Douglas MacDonald of Melrose, who died on July 20 at the age of 86. A former painter at Lincoln Laboratory, he was hired in 1952 and retired in 1983. Mr. MacDonald is survived by a daughter, Stephanie L. Griffith of Melrose; a son, Rodney of Augusta, ME; five grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Gifts in his memory may be made to Trinity Church, 131 W. Emerson St., Melrose, MA, 02176.
FRANK MANALIO
Frank Manalio, 98, of Weymouth, a former senior stock clerk at Draper Lab, died on July 2. He was hired in 1957 and retired in 1971. Names of survivors were unavailable.
JACOB ROTSTEIN
Jacob Rotstein, 88, of West Newton, a former research technical staff member at Lincoln Laboratory, died on June 5. He was hired in 1957 and retired 20 years later. Survivors include a daughter, Martha Bobruff of West Newton, and two grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to the Stone Institute, 277 Elliot St., Newton, MA 02464.
NATALIE D. SPECKMANN
Funeral services were held on July 10 in New Holland, PA for Natalie D. Speckmann, 79, of Gordonville, PA (formerly of Boston), a retired administrative assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who died on July 4. She began working at MIT in 1938 and retired in 1984. Ms. Speckmann is survived by a brother, Robert E. Speckmann of Houston, as well as a niece, nephew and great-nephew. She was buried in Zeltenreich's Cemetery in New Holland, PA.
JOSEPH WOODS
Joseph Woods, 81, of Bedford, died on July 19. He was hired in 1946 and retired as an engineering assistant from Lincoln Laboratory in 1984. Among the survivors are his wife, Jane.
NORMA ELLIS
Norma Ellis of Chandler, AZ, died on June 22 at the age of 78. She was hired by MIT in 1970 and retired in 1987 as an office assistant in the Controller's Accounting Office. Survivors include her daughter, Deborah Groves of Chandler.
ROSS FINNEY
Ross Finney, 67, of Carmel Valley, CA, a former senior lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, died on August 4. He was hired by MIT in 1961 and retired in 1990. Dr. Finney is survived by his wife, Rose; a daughter, Dorothea Pilotti; and a son, Nathaniel.
JOSEPH T. POWIERZA
Joseph T. Powierza of Newton, NH, died on August 17 at age 85. A 21-year employee of MIT, he came to work at the Institute in 1962 and retired as an air-conditioning mechanic in the Department of Architecture in 1983. He is survived by two sons, James T. of Newton, NH, and Richard J. of Manhattan, KS; and two grandchildren.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on August 23, 2000.
